"It should've been us."

"We were so close."

"Next year will be our year."

Those were some of the thoughts surely bouncing through the minds of disgruntled and emotionally scarred Detroit Lions fans watching the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. On one side was a team the Lions beat in the NFL's opening game, facing a team they nearly beat in the NFC championship before surrendering a 24-7 lead in the second half to fall just short of the franchise's first-ever trip to the Super Bowl.

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The Chiefs ended up cementing their dynasty with their third Super Bowl victory in the last five seasons after coming back to beat the 49ers 25-22 in overtime. The game started as a defensive struggle but turned into a classic, as Patrick Mahomes led multiple drives when trailing late to secure the Chiefs' victory and plant their flag as back-to-back champions.

It didn't take the sportsbooks located just down the road from Allegiant Stadium where the Super Bowl was played to start looking towards next year.

So who's the favorite to win the Super Bowl next year, and what are the Lions' odds?

It probably won't come as a surprise that the 49ers and Chiefs lead the way after meeting in the Super Bowl for the second time in five seasons, but the Lions aren't very far behind.

This season was unfamiliar territory for the Lions, but they return most of their key contributors from a young team with aspirations to get over the hump in 2024.

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The Lions are tied for the fourth-best odds to win the 2025 Super Bowl next season at +1200, according to betting lines posted by BetMGM immediately following the Super Bowl. The three teams with better odds than Detroit were the other three semifinalists, the 49ers (+500), the Chiefs (+750), and the Ravens (+850). The Lions are tied with the Buffalo Bills, who led the Chiefs in the divisional round but gave up a fourth-quarter comeback, in fourth at +1200. With +1200 odds, that means if you bet $100 and win, your profit will be $1200.

The Lions are just ahead of teams like the Cincinnati Bengals (+1400), Dallas Cowboys (+1600), Philadelphia Eagles (+1600), Miami Dolphins (+2000) and Green Bay Packers (+2500). The two other NFC North teams, the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings, sit in the middle of all teams with projected odds of +4000.

The Lions will likely be returning most of their key contributors from 2023 and will have a bevy of cap space and seven draft picks to try to make improvements to the team. The front office has impending paydays for players like quarterback Jared Goff and All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to consider, but they are well-positioned to be able to follow up on the success in 2024. Next season's schedule projects to be tougher after finishing in first place in the division, but Dan Campbell and the players said they will have a hunger to work harder over the seven-month offseason to reach the final game next year.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions one of early favorites to win Super Bowl in 2025